William
William was given to 10,545 boys in 2025, #9 among boys’ names; 4,215,725 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 2.15 million Americans named William and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (51% of everyone recorded); the median is 55 years old and half are between 32 and 70.
William is the #6 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of William by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does William mean?
Wiktionary, English section
William is “a male given name from the Germanic languages popular since the Norman Conquest.” Its etymology gives the senses “will” (*wiljô) and “helmet” (*helmaz) and “to choose, wish, want” (*welh₁-).
From Middle English William, from Anglo-Norman Willame, from Old High German Willahelm, from Proto-Germanic *Wiljahelmaz (> Latin Gulielmus), from Proto-Germanic *wiljô (“will”) + *helmaz (“helmet”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European roots *welh₁- (“to choose, wish, want”) and *ḱel- (“to cover, conceal, save”) respectively. Cognate with Dutch Willem, German Wilhelm, etc.; cognate borrowings outside of Germanic include Guillaume and Guillermo.
/ˈwɪl.i.əm/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is William?
#9 among boys’ names, 2025
William fell from #5 in 2015 to #9 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 8.3 to 6.2 per 1,000.
67,156 babies in 1947, the peak
William peaked in 1947, when 67,156 babies were given it (67,002 boys, #4 among boys’ names). The 10,552 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 16% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 10,545 | #9 | 6.2 |
| 2024 | 10,647 | #10 | 6.2 |
| 2023 | 10,673 | #10 | 6.2 |
| 2022 | 11,356 | #6 | 6.5 |
| 2021 | 12,170 | #6 | 7.0 |
| 2020 | 12,676 | #5 | 7.3 |
| 2019 | 13,658 | #4 | 7.6 |
| 2018 | 14,646 | #3 | 8.1 |
| 2017 | 15,046 | #3 | 8.1 |
| 2016 | 15,810 | #3 | 8.3 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15,950 | #5 | 8.3 |
| 2014 | 16,851 | #5 | 8.8 |
| 2013 | 16,669 | #5 | 8.8 |
| 2012 | 16,917 | #5 | 8.9 |
| 2011 | 17,362 | #3 | 9.1 |
| 2010 | 17,072 | #5 | 8.9 |
| 2009 | 17,937 | #5 | 9.0 |
| 2008 | 18,403 | #8 | 9.0 |
| 2007 | 18,898 | #8 | 9.1 |
| 2006 | 18,965 | #10 | 9.2 |
| 2005 | 19,060 | #11 | 9.5 |
| 2004 | 20,237 | #8 | 10.2 |
| 2003 | 20,000 | #11 | 10.1 |
| 2002 | 20,136 | #11 | 10.4 |
| 2001 | 20,110 | #10 | 10.4 |
| 2000 | 20,669 | #11 | 10.5 |
| 1999 | 20,718 | #14 | 10.8 |
| 1998 | 20,836 | #14 | 10.9 |
| 1997 | 20,020 | #19 | 10.6 |
| 1996 | 20,546 | #18 | 10.8 |
| 1995 | 20,160 | #20 | 10.6 |
| 1994 | 21,492 | #19 | 11.1 |
| 1993 | 22,218 | #18 | 11.3 |
| 1992 | 23,066 | #20 | 11.5 |
| 1991 | 23,860 | #19 | 11.8 |
| 1990 | 24,906 | #16 | 12.1 |
| 1989 | 24,673 | #15 | 12.3 |
| 1988 | 24,126 | #16 | 12.6 |
| 1987 | 24,202 | #15 | 13.0 |
| 1986 | 24,333 | #15 | 13.2 |
| 1985 | 24,606 | #16 | 13.3 |
| 1984 | 24,900 | #16 | 13.8 |
| 1983 | 25,396 | #16 | 14.2 |
| 1982 | 25,604 | #15 | 14.1 |
| 1981 | 24,798 | #15 | 13.8 |
| 1980 | 25,639 | #14 | 14.4 |
| 1979 | 24,676 | #13 | 14.3 |
| 1978 | 24,170 | #13 | 14.7 |
| 1977 | 24,758 | #12 | 15.1 |
| 1976 | 24,428 | #11 | 15.6 |
| 1975 | 25,561 | #10 | 16.4 |
| 1974 | 26,980 | #10 | 17.2 |
| 1973 | 28,018 | #9 | 18.0 |
| 1972 | 30,510 | #9 | 18.8 |
| 1971 | 35,413 | #7 | 20.0 |
| 1970 | 38,887 | #7 | 20.9 |
| 1969 | 37,607 | #6 | 21.0 |
| 1968 | 36,927 | #6 | 21.2 |
| 1967 | 37,615 | #6 | 21.6 |
| 1966 | 38,237 | #6 | 21.4 |
| 1965 | 40,111 | #6 | 21.6 |
| 1964 | 44,224 | #7 | 22.2 |
| 1963 | 44,453 | #7 | 21.9 |
| 1962 | 44,853 | #7 | 21.7 |
| 1961 | 48,045 | #7 | 22.6 |
| 1960 | 49,361 | #7 | 23.1 |
| 1959 | 51,386 | #7 | 24.1 |
| 1958 | 54,254 | #6 | 25.6 |
| 1957 | 56,852 | #6 | 26.4 |
| 1956 | 58,991 | #6 | 27.9 |
| 1955 | 59,990 | #6 | 29.1 |
| 1954 | 61,426 | #6 | 30.1 |
| 1953 | 61,829 | #6 | 31.3 |
| 1952 | 63,039 | #6 | 32.4 |
| 1951 | 62,781 | #6 | 33.3 |
| 1950 | 60,680 | #6 | 33.9 |
| 1949 | 61,506 | #4 | 34.7 |
| 1948 | 61,972 | #4 | 35.3 |
| 1947 | 67,002 | #4 | 36.6 |
| 1946 | 60,034 | #4 | 37.0 |
| 1945 | 50,218 | #4 | 37.3 |
| 1944 | 52,375 | #4 | 38.4 |
| 1943 | 55,904 | #4 | 39.2 |
| 1942 | 54,890 | #4 | 39.7 |
| 1941 | 47,798 | #4 | 38.9 |
| 1940 | 44,779 | #4 | 38.6 |
| 1939 | 42,071 | #4 | 38.0 |
| 1938 | 42,433 | #4 | 38.3 |
| 1937 | 40,725 | #4 | 38.2 |
| 1936 | 39,398 | #4 | 38.0 |
| 1935 | 40,204 | #4 | 38.6 |
| 1934 | 40,175 | #4 | 38.9 |
| 1933 | 39,049 | #4 | 39.4 |
| 1932 | 42,124 | #4 | 40.3 |
| 1931 | 43,280 | #4 | 41.6 |
| 1930 | 47,271 | #4 | 43.1 |
| 1929 | 47,815 | #4 | 44.5 |
| 1928 | 49,118 | #4 | 44.3 |
| 1927 | 51,476 | #4 | 45.7 |
| 1926 | 51,922 | #4 | 46.8 |
| 1925 | 53,310 | #3 | 47.8 |
| 1924 | 53,506 | #3 | 47.2 |
| 1923 | 52,136 | #3 | 47.6 |
| 1922 | 51,111 | #3 | 47.0 |
| 1921 | 51,862 | #3 | 47.1 |
| 1920 | 50,146 | #2 | 47.1 |
| 1919 | 43,969 | #2 | 44.9 |
| 1918 | 45,291 | #2 | 44.7 |
| 1917 | 42,422 | #2 | 45.8 |
| 1916 | 40,418 | #2 | 45.4 |
| 1915 | 38,563 | #2 | 45.4 |
| 1914 | 29,753 | #2 | 45.4 |
| 1913 | 23,538 | #2 | 45.9 |
| 1912 | 19,626 | #2 | 45.6 |
| 1911 | 10,593 | #2 | 46.9 |
| 1910 | 8,844 | #3 | 45.5 |
| 1909 | 7,913 | #2 | 48.3 |
| 1908 | 7,529 | #2 | 48.8 |
| 1907 | 6,904 | #2 | 47.0 |
| 1906 | 6,566 | #2 | 49.3 |
| 1905 | 6,495 | #2 | 49.1 |
| 1904 | 6,416 | #2 | 50.1 |
| 1903 | 6,311 | #2 | 52.9 |
| 1902 | 6,617 | #2 | 53.9 |
| 1901 | 5,990 | #2 | 56.3 |
| 1900 | 8,579 | #2 | 57.0 |
| 1899 | 6,086 | #2 | 57.3 |
| 1898 | 7,400 | #2 | 60.3 |
| 1897 | 7,198 | #2 | 63.8 |
| 1896 | 7,747 | #2 | 64.8 |
| 1895 | 7,277 | #2 | 62.0 |
| 1894 | 7,274 | #2 | 62.8 |
| 1893 | 7,223 | #2 | 64.3 |
| 1892 | 7,782 | #2 | 63.8 |
| 1891 | 6,763 | #2 | 66.8 |
| 1890 | 7,494 | #2 | 67.5 |
| 1889 | 7,772 | #2 | 70.3 |
| 1888 | 8,705 | #2 | 72.0 |
| 1887 | 7,470 | #2 | 73.7 |
| 1886 | 8,252 | #2 | 74.5 |
| 1885 | 8,044 | #2 | 74.6 |
| 1884 | 8,897 | #2 | 77.7 |
| 1883 | 8,387 | #2 | 80.2 |
| 1882 | 9,298 | #2 | 81.8 |
| 1881 | 8,524 | #2 | 84.6 |
| 1880 | 9,532 | #2 | 86.3 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is William a boy’s or a girl’s name?
William has been given almost only to boys: 16,029 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named William: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named William, and how old are they?
2.15 million alive in 2026, estimated
That is 51% of the 4,215,725 Americans ever recorded as William. The median William alive today is 55 years old; half are between 32 and 70.
The 2020 Census counted 2,240,114 people named William (2,208 women and girls, 2,237,906 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 2,344,595 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 166,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 699,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 441,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 361,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 303,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 176,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named William born?
The states with the most babies named William are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 21% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 326,619 | #21 | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 304,742 | #14 | 1.2× |
| California | 221,789 | #47 | 0.7× |
| Ohio | 207,065 | #7 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 201,720 | #14 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 186,353 | #21 | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 162,552 | #4 | 1.3× |
| Michigan | 143,961 | #11 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 138,545 | #3 | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 134,177 | #34 | 1.1× |
Where William is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, William is most over-represented in Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of William with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 4,225,638 babies since 1880, William is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 10,552 of their 10,628 babies (99%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as William
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about William and names like it
- Compare William and WillamBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sWilliam peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named William since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for William: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named William.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named William alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with WMost given first.